


Distractions and disasters

by gilleboll



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Drama Student Magnus Bane, Law Student Alec Lightwood, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rated for swearing, Slow Burn, ish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2020-11-23 23:04:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20897609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gilleboll/pseuds/gilleboll
Summary: “So,” Isabelle said after a moment’s silence, “have you talked to any hot law student boys yet?”Alec snorted, his breath coming out in a large cloud of white fog. “Jesus, Iz. No.” At Isabelle’s incredulous look, he was quick to add, “I haven’t had time.”Which was true. Pretty much since day one of the semester, he’d kept himself too busy to keep his eyes peeled for “any hot law student boys” to talk to.“You’re hopeless,” Isabelle told him with a sigh. Alec thought it better not to answer.-Alec Lightwood, a law student living in a crappy studio apartment in Brooklyn, quite literally runs into a fascinating stranger on the train. Why did he choose today of all days to bring all of his laundry with him, thus making a complete fool of himself?





	1. Laundry boy

”All I’m saying is you wouldn’t have to deal with them so often if you just learned how to use a laundromat.”

Alec scoffed and readjusted the strap of his duffel bag, which was stuffed full of clean laundry. 

”Doing it at home is cheaper,” he said, and Izzy groaned.

”Because the trip from Bed-Stuy to here and back again is  _ so  _ cost-effective. I’m serious, Alec. It’s obvious you don’t really want to come home all the time.”

”Can you blame me?” Alec muttered with a glance back up the street at his parents’ driveway.

”Hell no,” Izzy said, ”I’m this close to moving out.”

“Besides, it’s not like I had much of a choice this time.”

“No,” Isabelle admitted, “Mom would have killed you if you skipped Max’s birthday. Still though. They’d probably be less judgy if you learned how to do your laundry.” 

“Says the girl who can’t even make toast without burning it.” 

“Shut up,” Izzy told him with a punch to his upper arm. Alec rubbed the spot where she had hit him, mostly out of habit; he’d barely felt the punch through his several layers of clothing. 

“So,” Isabelle said after a moment’s silence, “have you talked to any hot law student boys yet?” 

Alec snorted, his breath coming out in a large cloud of white fog. “Jesus, Iz. No.” At Isabelle’s incredulous look, he was quick to add, “I haven’t had time.” 

Which was true. Pretty much since day one of the semester, he’d kept himself too busy to keep his eyes peeled for “any hot law student boys” to talk to. 

“You’re hopeless,” Isabelle told him with a sigh. Alec thought it better not to answer. They turned onto 86th Street and they let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.

“Oh thank God we’re here,” Isabelle said under her breath. The walk to the intersection of 86th and Lexington Avenue from their parents’ brownstone wasn’t that long, but the raw November cold made it more than a little unpleasant. 

“Is it okay if I leave you here?” Izzy asked once they reached the steps down to the subway platform. “I can’t stand this cold.” 

“Of course,” Alec told her. “You didn’t have to walk me in the first place.”

Izzy gave him a wry smile. “Yes I did. There’s no other time we talk.”

“We talk all the time.”

“No, I mean,  _ really _ talk.”

Alec gave her a look. “You bothering me about my love life isn’t what I’d call  _ really _ talking,” he said. Izzy just smiled and pulled him in for a quick hug.

“It’s been nice to have you around,” she said against his peacoat.

“You can always come visit me, you know that,” Alec said as he released his sister from the hug. 

“I might,” she said, before giving him a wave and walking back in the direction they had come from. 

Alec had barely made it onto the platform before he had to break into a full-on run. The last few people were filing in through the doors of the five train. It was about to leave, and Alec was  _ not _ going to miss it. The heavy duffel bag slammed against his leg as he dashed as fast as he could. He nearly knocked over a little girl, probably not much older than seven, in his hurry. He half-shouted an apology over his shoulder to the girl’s mother, who looked more confused than upset, really. His heart dropped into his stomach when he realized that there weren’t any more passengers getting on the train. Maybe he could still make it if he gave it his absolute all; and if that wasn’t enough, then he could find some comfort in the fact that slamming face-first into a subway train would probably make him forget how embarrassing this whole situation was. He reached the door to one of the cars right as it started to slide closed. He threw himself inside with a silent prayer that his legs or his bag wouldn’t get caught in the door. Luckily, he made it through unscathed.  _ Alec Lightwood, possible contender for the next Indiana Jones,  _ he thought triumphantly to himself. The laws of physics seemed to disagree, though, because the force of his bag swinging on his shoulder nearly sent him tumbling to the floor.  _ Maybe not, _ he amended as he caught and righted himself on a pole, panting harder than he’d like to be. He should probably do more cardio.

“Impressive,” a smooth voice from somewhere to his left said. Alec looked to see who had spoken and saw a young man who looked to be around his own age, with flawlessly coiffed black hair and dark, kohl-lined eyes smiling slightly at him. He was standing up, holding on to one of the overhead handles for balance. “I saw you running. You almost trampled that kid back there.” 

“Oh, I, uh… Yeah, I guess I did.” Alec immediately wanted to smash his head against the pole he used for support. Why, dear God,  _ why _ couldn’t he talk like a normal person? “I was in a hurry,” he added sheepishly, as if that made him sound less like a careless child-trampler. The man laughed. Alec couldn’t help noticing the way his eyes lit up when he laughed, like he was genuinely amused and not just laughing out of awkward politeness. 

“I could tell,” the guy said. Alec’s gaze flicked to his own boots and back up as he chuckled. 

“I think most people could tell,” he said. Once again,  _ why  _ couldn’t he make conversation? 

“That looks heavy,” the guy — Alec needed to come up with a nickname for him at this point, jeez — nodded toward Alec’s bag, “what’s in it?”

Alec looked down at the bag as if he didn’t even remember carrying it. “Uh, it’s— it’s laundry.” 

“You bring your laundry on the train?”

“Not usually.” Alec scratched the at the back of his neck. God, he was making a fool of himself. “But doing the laundry at my parents’ place is cheaper than a laundromat.” Maybe it would have been better to run at full speed right into the side of a subway car after all.

Perfect Hair Guy, as Alec decided to refer to him, gave a thoughtful nod. “That’s a good point,” he said. “Still, I don’t know if I’d wanna haul all my laundry on the subway.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to regret it,” Alec said, rolling his shoulder under the strap of the bag in an attempt to get some blood flowing back into his arm. “I have to drag this thing around with me all the way to Brooklyn.”  _ Alec Lightwood,  _ he thought,  _ terrible launderer and awkward oversharer. _

“I hope for your sake you don’t live in Bay Ridge.”

Alec chortled, once again averting his eyes from Perfect Hair Guy’s unwavering gaze. “Yeah, no, I think I’d die if I did.”

The brakes of the train made a squealing noise as they pulled up to the platform of the station on Lexington/59th. The shuffle of commuters getting on and off the train forced their conversation to a halt until the train got moving again. 

“What’s your stop?” Perfect Hair Guy asked once the ruckus had settled. He adjusted his grip on the handle as he spoke.

“Fulton Street Station,” Alec answered. “You?” 

“Grand Central,” he said. 

“I take it you’re not going to Bay Ridge, then,” Alec said. He was rewarded with another melodic laugh from Perfect Hair Guy. It was a nice laugh. It sounded light, like it came easily to him. 

“Definitely not,” he said. There was a chiming sound from his jacket, and he fished out a phone protected by an iridescent silvery case from his pocket. He smiled down at the screen and started typing. Alec felt like it was beyond awkward to watch a complete stranger texting, so he glanced around the car for something else to look at that would make him feel less creepy. In the end, he opted for his shoes. The black leather was scuffed at the toes, he noticed. In the back of his head he heard his father saying something about the importance of appearances when one was a lawyer. He silently wondered if he’d ever be able to live up to that image; impeccably dressed and successful. Of course, that was if he even survived law school in the first place. 

“That would be my stop.” Perfect Hair Guy’s voice drew Alec back out of his reverie, and he noticed the squealing of the brakes again. The platform of Grand Central was indeed in plain view outside the window. “Well, it’s been nice talking to you, laundry boy,” Perfect Hair Guy told him with a smile. Alec could barely splutter out a  _ “You too,” _ before the guy had waved and stepped out on the platform. It wasn’t until nearly a stop later that Alec fully realized what had just happened. He froze in the middle of putting in his earbuds as it hit him.

”Laundry boy,” he muttered to himself. ”The fuck?”

Alec was never going going to do laundry again. Or at least he was never going to wait until the last possible second to do his laundry again. This was a decision he had come to when he was hauling his bag up the stairs to his apartment and the shoulder strap broke. The seam keeping the strap and the bag together had come undone just like that. So much for quality. He’d walked up the last flight expelling a pretty much constant stream of whispered swears. Closing the door to the apartment behind him, he dumped the duffel on the floor with a heavy  _ thump. _ No way he was going to unpack that right now. Instead, he wandered over to the kitchen — really it was more of a kitchenette, separated from the rest of the studio apartment by a counter that doubled as Alec’s dining table — and threw the pantry cabinet open. He let his forehead fall against the cabinet door as he let out a heavy sigh. He’d have to go grocery shopping soon. He grabbed his last cup of instant noodles and more or less slammed it down on the counter. He switched his kettle on, leaned his hip against the counter and fished his phone out of his jeans pocket. He scrolled mindlessly for a few minutes; Jace’s latest pictures and videos of accomplishments in the gym, Isabelle’s OOTD pictures and candids of her kickboxing friends, Maia’s niche reading choices, so on, but something felt… wrong. It was too quiet. The water wasn’t boiling. In fact, it wasn’t even simmering! Alec put his phone down on the counter and bent over the kettle to get a closer look at it. He flicked the switch off, then back on again — nothing. He tried unplugging it and plugging it back in, still to no avail. When the kettle yielded no results, he tried the light over the stove. Dead. 

“Kill me,” Alec groaned to the room at large. Maybe if he spoke it into existence, it would come true. 

It didn’t come true. Rather than getting struck by lightning, or being smited by God, he ended up lying sprawled on his stomach on his bed with his nose in a textbook, an empty pizza box on the floor, and an ignored text to his landlord on his phone. He ran his hands through his hair, letting his face fall into the sheets. Maybe this was how the universe planned to kill him. It was already way later than he’d planned to stay awake tonight and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get the information to stick. Which meant that he’d stay up all night, cramming for a quiz he was probably going to fail anyway because he was going to fall asleep while taking it. 

“Come on. Focus,” he hissed to himself. 

_ — To meet this burden, the prosecutor will call upon witnesses to testify and may also present physical evidence suggesting the defendant committed the crime. Just as a private individual may decide that it is not worth the time or effort to file a legal action — _

This was definitely how the universe tried to kill him. Bold move. Slow death by law textbooks.

Alec’s thigh protested painfully as he shifted his position. Who knew laundry could leave bruises? Just the reminder he needed from that blunder. To add insult to injury, he had yet to unpack the bag that contained all said laundry.  _ Alec Lightwood, fully functioning, grown adult. _

_ “Impressive.”  _

Impressive indeed. 

* * *

The incessant blaring of his alarm ripped Alec out of whatever dream he’d been having. He winced at the noise and blinked hard to get his eyes to adjust to the brightness of the room. Stretching his legs out with a guttural groan, he realized that he was still wearing his jeans. He’d fallen asleep with his textbook as a pillow. Silently, he cursed himself for not changing into sweatpants, or at least brushing his teeth last night; he felt like he could taste how terrible his breath was. 

He groaned again as he made the herculean effort of rolling out of bed. He probably had highlighter ink all over his cheek. Yeah, he was definitely going to bomb this quiz. 

Because Alec had to skip breakfast in favor of showering and shaving, he entered the lecture hall feeling absolutely dead on his feet. At least he was on time. He slid into a seat near the back of the room with a sigh that felt like it came from the very depths of his body and soul. 

“Did you sleep at all?” 

Maia had twisted around in her seat in front of Alec and was leaning on the backrest, looking imploringly up at him. Maia was short, honest, and had that sort of vibe about her that said  _ “don’t fucking test me”; _ she was also the only person Alec had met at NYU that he would consider a friend. That said, he had no idea what she was doing, majoring in law, because he’d never seen someone less enthusiastic about pursuing something. 

“A few minutes,” Alec told her. 

“Well, you look like a wreck.”

Alec glared at her. “Thanks.” Sometimes she could a bit  _ too _ honest. 

Maia flashed him a grin. She looked like she was about to say something else, but Alec was spared by their professor picking that exact moment to start talking. Alec only half listened as she briefly explained, then passed out the quiz. 

An hour and a half later, quiz turned in, and hopefully not as failed as he had thought it would be, Alec hurried across campus, hands shoved deep in the pockets of his bomber jacket. God, he hated late fall; that window of time when it was cold as all hell but there was none of the snow or brightly colored leaves to make things a little more bearable. No, everything was just cold, and grey, and usually wet. At least it wasn’t raining today, so his shoes remained dry as he cut across one of the yellowing lawns. More than anything, he wished for warmth and the energy to get through the rest of his day. That was why he was headed toward the small coffee shop not far from his lecture hall with sure strides. 

Apparently he wasn’t the only one in need of heat and caffeine, because when he stepped inside he wasn’t just met with the smell of roasting coffee. The chattering of patrons and the loud clatter of porcelain felt a bit like an assault on Alec’s eardrums. He sucked in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and exhaled before taking his place in the back of the line. Oh, the things he was willing to do for coffee. 

After a few, albeit agonizing minutes, it was his turn to place his order. The barista took it and smiled at him like she didn’t even notice the very obvious exhaustion-induced bags under his eyes.

”Have a good day,” the barista told him, handing him a large styrofoam cup of black coffee and a bagel in a paper bag.

”You too,” Alec said, managing a polite smile. He took the cup and the bag, and ducked out of the line. 

”Do my eyes deceive me?” 

Alec had completely missed the person stood leaning casually against the counter, but he obviously hadn’t missed Alec. 

”Laundry boy?” the guy asked, and things started clicking into place. Perfect Hair Guy. Here. In a coffee shop on campus. Huh.

The second barista, who must have been chatting with Perfect Hair Guy just now, snorted very indiscreetly. Perfect Hair Guy gave him a withering look.

”It’s— it’s Alec, actually,” Alec said, trying his best to ignore Sneering Barista Guy. 

”I’m Magnus,” Perfect Hair Guy; Magnus, apparently, said and held out his right hand as if he expected Alec to shake it. On pure reflex, Alec reached his right hand out to take Magnus’s, only remembering the paper bag he was holding when he’d pretty much thrust it into Magnus’s hand. 

”Oh, right,” Alec said with a little laugh. Magnus also laughed as Alec scrambled to tuck the bag under his left arm. His hand now free, he shook Magnus’s hand. Magnus’s fingers were warm against Alec’s still cold hand. 

”So, are you NYU too?” Alec asked.

”Yeah,” Magnus said with a nod. He was smiling, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Alec was struck by how  _ brown _ they were. He hadn’t noticed that yesterday. Very deep brown and with a playful glint behind all the eyeliner. How long was too long to maintain eye contact like this?

”What major?” he asked, rather than continuing to stare awkwardly at Magnus’s eyes.

”Drama,” Magnus said. ”And you?”

”Law.” Alec glanced at the huge clock hanging on the wall behind Magnus’s head. ”Speaking of which… I need to get to the library.”

”Oh! I’m headed that direction too, I’ll walk you. ...If that’s fine with you.”

Alec smiled. ”Yeah. Yeah, sure.” 

Magnus was nice. They’d barely made it out of the coffee shop before Alec had come to that conclusion. Slightly condescending nickname notwithstanding. Aside from deciding to call Alec “ _ Laundry boy”, _ he did offer to keep Alec company on his way to the library, and he’d held the door open for him when they walked outside. 

“You don’t strike me as the lawyer type,” Magnus said. “No offense.” 

Alec smiled. “What, because I dragged all my laundry across half the city to do it at my parents’ house?” he asked.

“That. And, well…” Magnus looked from Alec’s ruffled hair to his hastily put-together outfit. “You don’t exactly look like a lawyer.”

”I’m technically not a lawyer yet, so… anything goes, I guess?” Alec said and ran his hand through his hair to get it a little more under control, though the effort was mostly futile.

”I, for one, think that the attorney scene needs to loosen up a bit,” Magnus said with a laugh. 

Alec’s eyebrows drew together as he glanced over at Magnus. ”Loosen up a bit?” 

“Yeah. In terms of dress code it’s all nicely tailored suits. Don’t get me wrong, everyone looks a hundred percent more attractive wearing a well-tailored suit, but that’s just so narrow. You people need to broaden your fashion horizons!” 

Alec snorted into his coffee, causing scalding hot liquid to splash up through the hole in the lid of the cup. He tried to give off the impression that he hadn’t just burned his lips laughing at something he wasn’t sure was a joke, though he was fairly certain that he didn’t succeed. He wasn’t exactly making a brilliant second impression. 

“Maybe you should become a lawyer, then,” Alec said, eyeing Magnus’s clothes. “Your horizons look like they’ve been broadened.” 

Now it was Magnus’s turn to snort. He gave his outfit an appraising look, as if he didn’t know what he was wearing, then he looked back up at Alec. “I think you’re right about that,” he chuckled. “But I’m sure I’d be a pretty bad lawyer.”

“You wouldn’t be the first one,” Alec pointed out. Magnus laughed; head tilted back a bit, and the corners of his eyes wrinkling like they had back in the café. Alec looked away, focusing his gaze on the path they were walking on.

“That’s true. Still, I think I’ll stick to acting.” 

“I could never be an actor,” Alec said, looking back up from the ground. 

“No?” Magnus asked. 

Alec shook his head. “No,” he confirmed, “I couldn’t deliver a line convincingly if my life depended on it.” 

At this, Magnus gave him a slightly doubtful look. “I bet you haven’t even tried.” 

“Okay fine, I haven’t,” Alec admitted. “But it seems like it’s a lot of pressure, performing in front of an audience.”

“And being a lawyer isn’t a lot of pressure?”

“It’s not the same.” 

Magnus gave a small smile and shrugged. “I’m just saying.”

“Are you trying to get me to change majors?” Alec asked, a dubious look on his face. Magnus shrugged again, but didn’t answer the question. Instead he slowed to a stop. 

“If I’m not mistaken, this is where I leave you,” he said. He wasn’t mistaken; ahead of them was the door to the library, and by the sounds of it, the library wasn’t Magnus’s destination. 

“Looks like it,” Alec said. 

“Well, it was nice to meet you. Again,” Magnus said with a smile. 

Alec chuckled. “You too. Again.” 

They lapsed into silence, but neither of them turned to walk away. Alec felt increasingly awkward as the seconds ticked by at what felt like a snail’s pace. 

“Right. Good luck with all your lawyer stuff,” Magnus finally said.

“Yeah, thanks. Good luck with your acting stuff.” 

Magnus smiled. “Thanks. Maybe I’ll see you around, Alexander,” he said before promptly walking away toward wherever it was he was going. 

“Maybe,” Alec said, more to himself than Magnus, who was probably already out of earshot. He desperately tried to unhear the way the name  _ Alexander _ sounded coming from Magnus’s lips. 

* * *

“This place is dangerously cheap,” Alec said, looking up from his menu. From across the table, Jace grinned at him. 

“You said you couldn’t afford anything too pricey,” he said. 

Alec scowled. “That doesn’t mean I want food poisoning,” he muttered before looking back down at the menu. “Again.” 

The last time Jace had picked a Chinese restaurant in a similar price range, it had ended in results Alec preferred not to think about. Admittedly, that was over a year ago, and a different restaurant, but still. 

“This place is fine,” Jace assured him. “I’ve been here before.” 

“Mm,” Alec hummed. “If you say so.”

He could almost feel Jace’s eyes on him, squinting a little as they often did when Jace was in thought. “Dude, what’s up?” 

“What?” Alec asked. “Nothing.” The fabric of Jace’s jacket rustled as he reached forward to grab the menu from his brother’s hands. He raised his eyebrows when Alec looked at him. 

“Bullshit,” he said. “Something’s up.”

“No. Have you heard from Isabelle?” 

“Yeah, we talked this morning,” Jace said. “Why? Are you mad at her or something?” 

Alec blinked at Jace. “What? No.”

“Then what’s wrong?” 

Alec sighed. “Just— a lot of schoolwork,” he said. It wasn’t  _ really _ a lie; he did have a lot on his plate where school was concerned. It just wasn’t the real issue. Jace, who seemed satisfied with the answer despite it being the textbook shitty excuse you probably shouldn’t believe, nodded. 

“That’s rough. But if anyone’s going to manage law school, it’s you. You’ve got this, man,” he said, giving Alec’s arm a firm pat.

“Thanks.”

Maybe he was better at acting than he’d always thought. Or maybe Jace was just stupid. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to wait and see which was more true. Hopefully he’d wake up tomorrow without the recollection of melodic laughter and the low rumble of a subway train making its way along the tracks continually dragging his thoughts to places they shouldn’t go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a quick heads up! i have no idea how often i’ll be able to update this fic, nor do i know how long it’s going to be (i’m a pantser, hi!). writing anything longer than 2000 words tends to be a bit challenging so i intend to take my time with this to make sure i’m happy with it and don’t rush it. that said, i hope you’ll stick around and enjoy the ride even if it might get slow!


	2. Inchoate offense

Maia shuffled her stack of flashcards and handed them to Alec. He looked down at the curvy handwriting, flipping through the cards one by one.

”Ready?” he asked. Maia nodded.

”Alright. What is a civil wrong?”

She was silent for a few seconds, chewing thoughtfully on the inside of her cheek. ”A… private lawsuit to remedy violations of private rights.”

Alec set the card aside. ”Yeah. What’s an inchoate offense?”

”Uh… crap,” Maia muttered. ”Give me a second.” She stared intently at the dented wood of their library table, her eyebrows furrowed. Alec spotted her teeth worrying at her top lip.

”I can read another card if you want,” he said after a prolonged stretch of silence.

”No, no, I’ve got this,” Maia waved him off, not breaking her eye contact with the table. ”It’s, uhm, it’s an attempted crime, right?”

”That’s a type of inchoate crime, yeah,” Alec said, flipping the card to read the definition scrawled on the back; ”Conduct deemed criminal without actual harm being done, provided that the harm that would have occurred is one the law tries to prevent.”

”That’s an attempted crime!” Maia burst out. Alec gave her a warning look; he really didn’t feel like getting thrown out of the library today.

”It could also be conspiracy. Or stalking.”

Maia looked kind of stunned.  _ ”Stalking _ isn’t  _ harmful?”  _ she hissed. 

”Obviously it is,” Alec said. ”That’s just how the law is written. Stalking’s still a crime. You don’t need to look at me like I think it isn’t.”

Maia unclenched her jaw with a little sigh. ”Sorry. Bad habit.” 

She looked like she was about to elaborate further on that when Alec spoke. 

”It’s fine. Next card.”

”Actually, I need to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back,” Maia said, standing up from her chair. Alec nodded at her before returning his attention to the stack of flashcards. In the lack of anything else to do, he flipped through them again.

_ Mitigating factor. Felony. Status offense. _

His phone buzzed in his pocket once, twice, three times. A look at the screen told Alec that Isabelle and Jace were having a back-and-forth in their group text. 

**Izzy (Thursday, 2:04 p.m.): ** I just met

**Izzy (Thursday, 2:04 p.m.): ** The cutest girl I’ve ever seen

**Jace (Thursday, 2:05 p.m.): ** Did you send that to the wrong chat?

**Izzy (Thursday, 2:06 p.m.):** No I didn’t!! I need you guys to help me

**Jace (Thursday, 2:08 p.m.):** ????

**Alec (Thursday, 2:09 p.m.):** I’m with Jace on this one 

**Izzy (Thursday, 2:09 p.m.):** Ok let me explain

“Okay, I’m back,” Maia said as she slid into her seat opposite Alec. He put his phone face-down on the table and picked up the cards again.

_ Buzz-buzz. _

“What is a capital offense?” 

_ Buzz-buzz. _

“Uh… A crime punishable by death.” 

Alec nodded and discarded the card. “Yeah. What’s—” 

_ Buzz-buzz. _

“Someone’s popular today,” Maia said, raising an eyebrow. She eyed his phone, which was slowly but surely vibrating its way toward the edge of the table. “Something going on?”

“Not really. My sister’s having a bit of a crisis I think,” Alec said. 

“Huh?”

“Some cute girl she met,” he explained. “That’s all I know, really.” 

She leaned in over the table with the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. There was a gleam in her eye Alec didn’t think he’d seen before and that he wasn’t sure he was going to like. ”Well now you’ve got me curious.” 

His phone buzzed again and Maia made a grab for it. ”If you won’t look, I will. What’s your passcode?”

”What? I’m not  _ giving you _ my passcode,” he said, yanking the phone from her hands. He tapped into his messages to get himself (quietly) caught up.

**Jace (Thursday, 2:10 p.m.): ** Please do

**Izzy (Thursday, 2:10 p.m.):** So we had a school thing with some other schools I’ve never heard of it’s not important really

**Izzy (Thursday, 2:11 p.m.): ** EXCEPT I got paired up with this girl right

”Don’t leave me hanging here, Lightwood!” Maia chided him, once again trying to make a grab for Alec’s phone. He swatted at her hand with one hand at the same time as he held the phone out of her reach with the other. 

”I’m not here to gossip about my siblings to you,” he said. ”I’m here because you threw  _ those _ —” he gestured to the cards, ”—at me in a panic not even thirty minutes ago.”

Maia gave him a scathing look. ”For your information, I had to pick up an emergency shift last night and so I didn’t have time to cram.”

Alec rolled his eyes. ”Well. It’s your degree I guess.”

”Exactly! Now spill.”

”You don’t even know who my sister is. I don’t understand why you’re so curious.” He chanced a glance at his phone, which was still more or less blowing up with Isabelle and Jace’s conversation. 

”I’m curious because you said the words  _ cute _ and  _ girl _ in succession,” she said before leaning so far over the table she was pretty much lying flat against it. She looked up at him through her eyelashes and flashed what he suspected was her puppy-dog eyes. ” _ Please? _ ”

He heaved a heavy sigh. ”Do you want to know what’s going on or do you just want to know who the girl is?”

”Depends on what you’re willing to tell me.”

Still holding his phone out of Maia’s reach, he scrolled through the rest of the messages.

”Uh… she’s… got red hair. Short. She’s from Brooklyn. Apparently pays for extra art classes at Tisch,” he told her as he read.

”Got a name? Or any pictures?” she asked, chin propped against her hand. 

”Mm… Nope.”

”Think you could, I don’t know, get that?”

His eyebrows drew together into a scowl. ”Didn’t you say something about stalking like ten minutes ago?”

Maia stuck out her tongue and blew a dragged out raspberry at him. ”You’re so boring, you know that? Boring.”

”Oh no,” Alec said, making sure his voice was more than just a little tinged with sarcasm, before returning his attention to his phone. He typed out a quick reply to Izzy, then he pocketed his phone and shrugged his jacket on. 

”We should get going before we’re late.”

”Alright, chief,” Maia said, scraping her cards together and shoving them in her bag.

”Don’t call me that,” he said as he bent down to pick his own bag up from the floor.

”Alright, killjoy,” she amended with an ear-to-ear smile. Alec just sighed and got up to leave, Maia in tow.

As they made their way across campus, Alec noticed Maia repeatedly looking up at him and then returning her eyes to their surroundings. The third time he saw her do it, he looked down at her in return.

”What?” he asked.

She pressed her lips together for a second. ”I’m curious…” she began.

”Oh what a surprise. That’s such shocking news,” he muttered. With another withering look at him, Maia continued;

”Fuck off. I’m curious. Don’t  _ you _ have your sights set on anyone?”

Alec cocked an eyebrow. In his head, he was very quickly going over and assessing his options. Did he want to make this a whole  _ ”I’m gay” _ -thing? Going off of their talk in the library, Maia’s reaction definitely wouldn’t be bad. Still. Was that something he was willing to disclose right here, right now? Did he even have anyone in his sights? And if he did, was that something he wanted her to know? He had a sneaking suspicion that confiding in Maia would end up with Alec having her as his wingwoman. Would that be so terrible though? Maybe opening up a little could be good.

”No,” he said, ignoring the slight look of disappointment that came over Maia’s face, ”I don’t.”

She nudged him — unnecessarily hard, he might add — in the side. She ignored his winced protest and moved to walk backwards in front of him. 

”Do you have a personal life? Like. At all?” she asked. Alec looked pointedly at the air half a foot above her head, pressing his lips tightly together.

”Stop jutting your chin out like that,” she told him.

”Like what?”

”Like this.” She stopped right in his path and stuck her chin up and out with an exaggerated frown. 

He huffed, sidestepping her without having to stop. ”I don’t do that.”

”You’re doing it right now!” she exclaimed, turning herself back around to catch up with him. 

”No I’m not. You’re starting to sound like Isabelle and I don’t know how I feel about that.”

”And  _ you’re _ avoiding my question. What’s up with your personal life?”

He let out a sigh before giving her the most mundane answer that came to mind; ”My personal life is mostly me trying to get my piece of crap landlord to fix my damn stove,” he said as he pulled the door to their lecture hall open.

”You still haven’t gotten hold of him?” Maia asked, slipping ahead of him into the room.

”I’m going to.”

Maia laughed and said something that sounded like  _ ”Yeah, right” _ when the door clicked shut behind them. 

* * *

With a groan, he dropped his phone onto the couch. At this point he was ready to give up. What was the point of even having a landlord if he never picked up the phone whenever one of his tenants called? What person quote-unquote missed  _ six _ calls in two days? Not only was Alec annoyed at his landlord, but nearly a whole week without a working stove was starting to take a real toll on his wallet and he couldn’t exactly keep asking Jace if he could cook in his kitchen. Alec loved his brother but his place was disgusting; it smelled inexplicably kind of like fish every time Alec set foot in there and no one knew why. Just that was enough for him to want to avoid daily visits. 

Whether it was practically nonexistent landlords or fishy apartments, every cheap place in New York had its downsides Alec supposed. Or maybe it was more like every cheap place in the city having its upsides. For example, his apartment didn’t have pipes that groaned every night or drafty windows. Upsides. Still, his current situation was a distinct downside. Living on Hot Pockets and TV-dinners wasn’t exactly ideal,  _ or _ very tasty after a day or two. The thought of cheap takeout or microwave pizza for even one more meal made him want to retch. He’d honestly rather have loud plumbing or a front door that wouldn’t close all the way.

A text from Isabelle distracted him from the thoughts of his potential nausea — a very welcome distraction indeed.

**Izzy (Friday, 7:12 p.m.): ** Alecccccccc

**Alec (Friday, 7:13 p.m.):** Yeah

**Izzy (Friday, 7:15 p.m.):** Can I crash at your place tonight??

**Alec (Friday, 7:18 p.m.):** Sure

**Alec (Friday, 7:18 p.m.): ** Why

**Izzy (Friday, 7:19 p.m.): ** I’m at a party in greenpoint and you’re the only one I know who lives in brooklyn

**Alec (Friday, 7:22 p.m.):** Just tell me when you want me to come get you

He felt like he probably should have objected to his little sister going to parties, but a whole childhood spent with her doing whatever she wanted told him that she wouldn’t listen to any argument he’d throw her way. At least when she slept at his place, he could keep her out of any trouble with the cops, their parents or the people of New York in general. Not that he didn’t think Isabelle could fend for herself — she was more than capable of that — but he’d rather she wouldn’t have to. And besides, a walk to Greenpoint and back would give him something to do other than mindlessly scroll through the endless list of garbage TV channels. 

A bit of a depressing Friday night, but for once he didn’t have schoolwork over the weekend and he’d discovered the hard way that he wasn’t much of a fan of college parties. Cheap liquor and music that was way too loud wasn’t exactly Alec’s forté. 

Another text from Izzy informed him that he was in the clear to get her after eleven. He couldn’t help but smile a little at that. Knowing Isabelle, she could have stayed out until much later, but she wanted to spare Alec the really late-night walk. She could be sweet when she wanted to be. Now it was just a matter of killing the time until he had to get going. 

By nine thirty, he was on his way out the door. Was it way too early to leave? Absolutely. Did he have anything better to do? Not really. Normally walking to Greenpoint wouldn’t take much longer than an hour or so, but there were longer routes he could take to pad out that time. He gave himself a quick pat down before stepping outside. Keys, wallet, phone; all there. Outside the night sky was clear, thus leaving the air biting cold. Alec wouldn’t have been surprised if it were to start snowing any day now. He flipped up the collar of his coat and hunched his shoulders just the slightest bit as an involuntary shudder went through him. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets to keep them warm and set off to only sort of aimlessly wander in the right direction. The fallen leaves that had yet to become slimy mulchlike mush made satisfying crunching sounds as they crumpled under the soles of Alec’s shoes, only slightly drowned out by the hum of cars passing by a few blocks down the road. 

He liked the city at night. It felt entirely different once the stores and offices started locking up for the night. People seemed to carry themselves differently. And while the streets never really became empty, it was much easier to get around New York at night, which was definitely something that he could appreciate. Not having to worry about bumping shoulders with strangers and not having to adjust his pace to avoid accidentally mowing someone down made his life much easier. 

Slowly but surely he made his way through Williamsburg and onward toward his destination. As he cut across a big, frost covered lawn, he fished his phone out of his pocket to give Isabelle a call. 

_ ”Hello?” _ Isabelle’s voice was hard to make out over the loud chatter of voices around her.

Alec cut straight to the chase. ”I’m almost there. Where do I meet you?”

_ ”Uh… Hold on a second Alec,” _ she said, then there was a rustle on the other end of the line and he could hear her asking,  _ ”What was the name of the subway station around the corner? Greenpoint Avenue?” _ Another rustle. Then her voice sounded much clearer when she spoke again;  _ ”Greenpoint Avenue, the subway station there. Where are you now?” _

”McCarren Park. I’ll be there in like fifteen minutes.”

_ ”Yeah, okay, I’ll see you then,”  _ she said, with only a slight slur to her speech that Alec probably wouldn’t even have caught if he hadn’t been listening for it. 

”Yeah,” he echoed before hanging up. Then he stuck his already cold hand back in his pocket. 

He didn’t have to wait long for Izzy to turn up around the corner of a building. Even from a distance, he could see that she was smiling at him.

”Why aren’t you wearing a coat?” Alec said by way of greeting when she reached him. Her smile immediately disappeared from her lips and was replaced by what could best be described as a pout. 

”I am!” she told him, gesturing to a leather jacket that had stopped being weather appropriate back in September. 

He squinted at her. ”That’s not a coat, Iz. You’re going to get cold.”

”I don’t think so,” she said. Alec crossed his arms over his chest, still squinting a little at her.

”Let’s just go,” she sighed and started walking past him down the street. He assumed she thought that he hadn’t seen her already pulling her jacket tighter around her. An exasperated but still fond smile found its way onto his face.

”Wrong way, Isabelle!” he called after her, and she immediately turned back around on her heel. He couldn’t hold back a laugh as she came back to where he was standing. He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her briefly to him before starting to walk back in the direction of Bed-Stuy and home. 

”Did you have fun?” he asked.

”I did!” she said and took her phone out of her purse to show him something. That something turned out to be a series of progressively more blurry pictures. ”That’s Clary, the girl I talked about yesterday.” She pointed to a girl with a bright smile and ever brighter red hair.

Alec raised an eyebrow at Izzy. ”Wait— so you met this girl  _ yesterday _ and you’re already going to parties with her?”

”I have my ways,” she said with a smile. ”Anyway, that there is Clary’s friend Simon.” She pointed to the grinning face next to Clary’s; a boy with short dark hair and glasses. 

”He looks… insufferable,” Alec stated after a moment of scrutinizing the picture. 

”He’s fine,” Izzy retorted and put her phone away.

”Just  _ fine?” _

She made a face at him and looked like she was about to smack him on the shoulder. ”Yes, he’s fine! I don’t know him that well yet.”

”I was just asking,” Alec said, raising his hands in surrender.

* * *

As soon as Alec turned the key in the lock and swung his door open, Isabelle pushed past him inside. He heard her kicking her shoes off as he fiddled with the security chain, and by the time he turned to face the room, she had pressed herself against one of his radiators.

”You know I own blankets, right?” he asked, putting his coat on a hanger.

She shuddered and leaned back further against the radiator. 

”This is faster,” she said. 

”Uh huh.” 

He strode over to the couch and snatched up a throw blanket that he tossed in Izzy’s direction. She caught it in her arms and wrapped it around herself, already moving away from the radiator. She tailed Alec over to the kitchen counter where he’d left his kettle.

”Can you grab two mugs?” He pointed the overhead cabinets. While Isabelle dug around in his china cabinets, Alec put the kettle under the tap. When it was full of water he brought it over to the power strip by his TV to plug it in.

”What the hell are you doing?” Izzy inquired, peering over the counter at him.

”Power’s not working over there and the landlord won’t get it fixed.”

Isabelle’s eyebrows knit together into a thoughtful frown. ”Isn’t that like… illegal?”

Alec gave a noncommittal shrug and flipped the switch on the kettle.

”Just say you’re a lawyer and he’ll fix it,” she suggested. ”Where are your teabags?” 

”Pantry. To your left. Also, not a lawyer yet,” he reminded her.

She set a box of assorted teas on the counter as she spoke. ”Okay. Tell him Dad’s a lawyer. Problem solved!” 

”I don’t want to do that.”

Izzy sighed, dumping out the teabags on the countertop. ”We all have to do things we don’t want sometimes,” she said as she picked out two bags from the small pile.

”Sage advice, Izzy.”

Isabelle sat half asleep, leaning on Alec’s shoulder. Their now empty cups of tea sat on the coffee table where Alec had also propped his feet. The TV was on at a low volume, but neither of them were paying any attention to it. They sat with their eyes fixed on Izzy’s phone, on which Instagram was open and they were scrolled pretty far down on Clary’s profile page. It consisted mostly of pictures and videos of that Simon guy and various art pieces. Alec was largely pretty uninterested in the content until a dimly lit group picture grabbed his attention. Isabelle seemed much less intrigued by that post though, because she kept scrolling past it immediately.

”Wait! Wait wait wait, scroll back up,” he told her, nudging her with his elbow. He felt her tense a little against him and she sat herself up straighter.

”What? Why?” she wondered, but she was already doing what he’d asked. 

”I recognize that guy,” he said as he reached to zoom in on one of the smiling faces in the picture.

”From  _ where? _ Since when do you know guys who wear eyeliner?” she asked, sounding the most alert she had in at least an hour.

”I bumped into him a couple times like a week ago. His name was M-something.”

”Magnus?” Isabelle asked.

”Uh. Yeah,” Alec said, glancing at Izzy. ”How’d you know?”

”He was tagged,” she said with a smile. When Alec looked back down at the phone, Isabelle had indeed tapped into another profile and it did indeed say Magnus. She swiftly scrolled down a few pictures and stopped on a selfie from around Halloween.

”Oh Alec, he’s cute!” she exclaimed and put what felt like all of her weight on Alec’s side. ”You should follow him.”

”Izzy, wh—” he cut himself off with a strangled wince as she, out of nowhere, started climbing across his lap to pick his phone up from the coffee table. He scrambled to push her off him and snatch his phone, but Isabelle was quick as always. He’d barely had time to react before she had clambered off him and out of his immediate reach, unlocked his phone and opened Instagram.

”There,” she announced, showing him that she had actually pulled up Magnus’s profile and pressed follow. She then locked the phone and put it face up on her side of the table, a huge grin on her face. Alec just sighed and leaned back against the cushions. Within a few minutes the both of them were halfheartedly watching TV, Isabelle with her feet jammed in under Alec’s legs. The screen of his phone lit up where it lay on the table. When Alec made no effort to look at the notification, Izzy rolled over to take a look. 

”Oh my God. Alec,” she said, picking the phone up and holding it closer to her face. She looked like she was reading the notification again. Apparently the text on the screen hadn’t changed with the distance from Isabelle’s eyes, and she looked up at her brother with an excited spark in her eyes.

”Guess who is requesting to follow you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks a lot to my copious assignments and other not school or work related occurances that kept me from writing this chapter somewhat quickly! i’d say for now it’s probably safe to assume that i won’t be able to update this fic more than once or twice a month if something special doesn’t come up. i do post general updates on my progress on my tumblr tho!

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are always appreciated! <3
> 
> [find me on tumblr!](https://gilleboll.tumblr.com/)


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